Peter Beattie meets SOSA at Robina

Mar 19, 2006

What Really Happened At Robina !

On Thursday 16th March 2006 five members of Save Our Spit Alliance went to Robina Town Centre with the purpose of letting the Premier Peter Beattie know we were not happy with him giving away our public open space and maybe, if he came close enough, ask him a question.

To our surprise Peter Beattie headed straight toward us beaming with his best media smile, shaking our hands like a good pollie and posing with us for photos. If there was a baby in sight, he probably would have kissed it. The media were equally surprised at his unexpected behaviour and getting much more than just an opening of a government customer service branch.

Peter Beattie invited SOSA members to "talk" over a cup of coffee at a local cafe. We accepted his invitation although we suspected it could turn into a political stunt. We remained open to the possibility of an honest dialogue with the Premier but our suspicions proved correct and we quickly realised the invitation to coffee was not to hear our concerns but to exploit the media presence for what was supposed to be the opening of a government department.

It was apparent Premier Beattie had been informed SOSA were at Robina as he came prepared with literature in hand. Rather than get a chance to ask Premier Beattie questions about this development that will negatively affect most Gold Coasters, Premier Beattie took out his literature and was preparing to tell us the history of the Spit.

Mr Beattie became aggressive when some sensitive questions were asked and in true political fashion, shifted the focus away from the real issue, the shipping terminal, to threats of defamation. The Premier then side tracked and dodged questions regarding the negative social impact this development will have on the community and did not answer the questions put to him.

There is no doubt Peter Beattie used this coffee table stunt with SOSA in the run up to the Gaven by-election. The Premier even prolonged the media show by bringing out a tray of coffee and serving SOSA members before he left.

It is clear Premier Beattie is not interested in our concerns, or the concerns of the 11,000 plus petitioners opposed to this development. SOSA has been appealing to the Premier to discuss our concerns in person for 14 months, but has only engaged in this coffee table media stunt with SOSA in the run up to the Gaven by-election.